Present tense of -ar verbs

Infinite Verb

‍The purpose of this page is to explain to anyone who wants to know how to conjugate Spanish verbs.

What does "conjugating" even mean? Basically, it is changing the infinitive of a verb to match the subject of the sentence.

Conjugating verbs in Spanish is often the most difficult task for students. Just like in English, your subject and verb have to match.

For example: I AM a teacher.
He IS a teacher.
You ARE a teacher.

See how the verb changes based on the subject? We conjugate verbs all the time in English, but often don't think about it because it's so natural. That's part of being fluent in a language: you move fluidly through grammar. When you are learning Spanish, it takes some thought at first. Let's figure out the rules for conjugation.

First, we need to know/review some basic background info before we can jump right into conjugations:

1. INFINITIVE: the form of the verb that means "to ........". For example: hablar means "to talk", cocinar means 'to cook", jugar means "to play".
   
   
2. Recognition of -AR verbs: Infinite forms of verbs in Spanish will always end in one of these three options.
   • AR (for example: hablar, caminar, tocar, mirar, nadar)
   • ER (for example: aprender, beber, comer, correr, temer)
   • IR (for example: asistir, concluir, traducir)

3. PERSONAL PRONOUNS: Knowing the chart below is CRUCIAL to your success in conjugating verbs in Spanish.


Now... it's time to start conjugating! Remember, this is for the PRESENT TENSE: so you use this to describe what is happening NOW.

1. Every infinite has two parts: a root and an ending. For the verb "hablar", "habl" is the root, and "ar" is the ending. This is why HABLAR is an -AR verb.
2. To begin conjugating, you will be changing the ENDING. This means you will take off the "-ar" at the end of the verb and you will replace it with the correct conjugated ending.
3. The NEW ending will have to match the subject of the sentence. This means you will need to see where the subject fits in the chart above. For example, if the subject is "We"/"Nosotros", the new ending will come from the same place in the chart (top right corner).
4. After you know the subject, you are ready to conjugate! Using the chart below, you will add these endings after the root:
   
   

This is probably a little overwhelming at first, but usually practicing is the easiest way to catch on. You'll be conjugating like a pro in no time!

Let's start with the verb "CANTAR", which means "to sing".

1. Find the root by taking off the -AR ending. (cant-)
2. Replace the ending with the proper -AR endings:

yo canto nosotros cantamos

tú cantas vosotros cantáis

él, ella, Ud. canta ellos, ellas, Uds. cantan


This is the whole chart that includes every subject. Let's practice with another verb, "HABLAR", which means "to talk".

yo hablo nosotros hablamos

tú hablas vosotros habláis

él, ella, Ud. habla ellos, ellas, Uds. hablan


Now let's practice with individual conjugations. Try to work the following practice problems before checking your answers.

1. I study (estudiar)
2. You work (trabajar)
3. He arrives (llegar)
4. We win (ganar)
5. They (boys) enter (entrar)

Answers:

1. Yo estudio
2. Tú trabajas
3. Él llega
4. Nosotros ganamos
5. Ellos entran

Watch this video for a great summary of how to conjugate regular -AR verbs:



Conjugation Back song



Directions: Talk about what each person in the picture does by using the correct -ar ending verbs and conjugating it. Remember, the endings for -ar ending verbs are the following:





Directions: Say what the people do using an ar verb. Talk about 4 of the people pictured. Refer to the person in the picture by his/her name. The word for to wait in Spanish is esperar.



Helpful Resources:

• Check out your textbook (Spanish 1, Descubre) on pgs. 50-51 and Work on the exercises in the book to practice.